METHUEN — The Trauma Intervention Program of Merrimack Valley and the City of Methuen are working on an agreement that would allow TIP to become stewards of land at Henry P. Schruender Memorial Park.

In return for cleaning up and maintaining the 3.4-acre park, TIP gets a riverfront home for the healing garden it plans to create in honor of the late Brenda Waller, a long-time TIP volunteer whose work inspired the project. She continued to help trauma victims right up to her final days in November 2006, when she lost a decadelong battle with cancer.

"The Trauma Intervention Program of Merrimack Valley healing garden at Schruender Park and Brenda Waller Way would be created in harmony with the natural surroundings composed of plants, trees, shrubs, suited to the climate and conditions of the wooded riverfront acreage," TIP executive director Jayan Landry said.

Waller had long envisioned a healing garden for people like her battling illnesses. She also wanted it to be a place of respite for police officers, firefighters, ambulance crews, emergency room workers and others left behind to comfort and console grieving relatives or traumatized survivors.

Schruender Park is on the northern bank of the Merrimack River off Riverview Boulevard near the intersection of Jayson Road, a side street off Route 110. The park was officially dedicated in 1975 to Henry P. Schruender, a conservation commissioner who died unexpectedly in 1974 during heart surgery. At the time of his death, he was dedicated to preserving a "greenbelt" of land along the river,

Various efforts to improve the park and make it a key recreational asset stalled over the years, but city officials now see TIP's project as a spark that could revive those earlier plans.

Methuen Mayor William Manzi noted in his recent State of the City address that it would be the area's first healing garden and "a place for meditation and reflection."

During the past two years, Dennis Larocque, the husband of a TIP volunteer, organized 5K road races in Waller's honor that raised more than $20,000 for TIP's healing garden.

"The healing garden will serve a significant purpose in the lives of victims, their families and those who unselfishly volunteer their time and expertise in trauma management," said Diane C. Lovallo, chief nursing officer at Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill and chairwoman of TIP's board of directors. "In some small way, this garden will provide a serene haven for those touched by tragedy to meet and restore themselves. We are thankful for the support of the cities, towns and facilities that we serve who have helped make this dream a reality."

Landry sees the healing garden as the centerpiece of a park where visitors will come to admire the bald eagles, read a book, reflect on a loved one, hike, walk their dogs, fish, have a picnic and enjoy nature.

"Water is the source of life and symbolic of purity, and we are blessed with the Merrimack River which leads to the open ocean as our backdrop," Landry said. "Rocks, stone, gravel and sand are essential components and would be the materials used to create natural stone benches, walk stones, birdbaths, focal points and sign posts. The existing trees give color, texture and form. Flowers will add brilliant color and attract butterflies and bees."

TIP plans to have a walkway of memorial bricks to keep the memory of loved ones alive.

Methuen Conservation officer Joseph Giarrusso called the park "a diamond in the rough" that was tailor-made for TIP's healing garden.

"It definitely would work very well with their program (TIP)," Giarrusso said. "It's a beautiful area that's got a great view of the Merrimack River. Bald eagles like this area, and you can see an occasional moose comes up and down the Merrimack River."

Anyone interested in contributing or volunteering to help out with the project can contact TIP at 167 East St., Methuen, MA 01844, or by calling 978-975-8471 or faxing 978-975-4321.